UTHSCSA Library News

Over 140 Community Health Workers (CHWs) attended the 2nd Annual San Antonio CHW/Promotor(a) Summit held on June 8th. Community Health Workers, also known as Promotores, are widely recognized as a vital part of the public health workforce in part by providing health literacy training and patient navigation services to undeserved populations. Through the many roles played by CHWs, the health disparities that exist in many parts of our nation are more effectively addressed on a community level. Texas is only one of 2 states that currently offer certification programs for CHWs.

The UT Health Science Center Briscoe Library attended the summit to promote resources from the National Library of Medicine (NLM) that support public health workers and health consumers alike with trusted health and research information. Peg Seger, Head of Outreach Services, and Patrick Lemelle, Outreach Library Assistant, provided demonstrations on MedlinePlus and PubMed while distributing and answering questions on many other NLM products and services. Of particular interest were the NLM Mobile Apps and Sites.

Earlier in the year, the Briscoe Library had collaborated with the University Health System CareLink program on a video in which the partnership between the library and the University Health System CareLink program was featured with a focus on the CareLink Patient Education Initiative: Using MedlinePlus Videos to Reach the Underserved. The CareLink Patient Education Initiative depends heavily on student interns from the Northwest Vista College Community Health Program in San Antonio. The video was played for summit attendees during a presentation by Rafael Maldonado, CareLink Education Director. This and a new MedlinePlus exhibit banner created quite a bit of additional interest in the use of NLM resources such as MedlinePlus.

In the state of Texas, 280 individuals graduated from a DSHS-certified community health worker certification training program of at least 160 hours in 2011. A total of 53 instructors were newly certified…As of December 31, 2011, there were 1,583 community health workers, an increase of 37% as compared to 1,153 community health workers at the end of 2010. The number of Texas counties with at least one certified community health worker grew from 82 counties at the end of 2010 to 101 counties as of December 31, 2011, an increase of 23%. In the UT Health Science Center Libraries outreach services area, Hidalgo County has 153, Bexar 106, Cameron 98, Webb 25, Starr 7, and Willacy 0. Bexar county along with Webb, Hidalgo and Cameron are all locations for Promotor(a)/Community Health Worker Training & Certification Programs.

Laredo 14th Annual Health Occupations Planning Exposition (HOPE)

Sponsored by the Area Health Education Center (AHEC) of the Mid Rio Grande Border Area of Texas

Students and teachers alike were very interested in a number of the features of
MedlinePlus and learning how NLM resources could be used for class projects. In
student health fairs, the MedlinePlus Videos & Cool Tools section often
gets the most immediate attention. We also handed out materials on ToxNet and
heard comments that some classes were working on projects with related topics and that this was a resource that they could use. We used the iPad exclusively at this fair and found that students were more apt to try their hand at looking up topics in MedlinePlus while also getting a chance to use the iPad.

November 15th ACA Enrollment at the Laredo Regional Campus Library

For the second time this year, the Laredo Regional Campus Library has hosted an Affordable Care Act (ACA) enrollment event for residents of Laredo and Webb County. The event was sponsored in collaboration between the UT Health Science Center Libraries, the 28th District Congressional Office of Representative Henry Cuellar, the Mid Rio Grande Valley (MRGV) Area Health Education Center (AHEC), and the South Texas Development Council. Other organizations belonging to the Enroll Webb County Coalition, and the Laredo Health Coalition also participated.

Congressman Cuellar, along with Laredo area hospital CEOs, was on site to promote the event through local TV and newspaper coverage. A number of area ACA Certified Application Counselors and Navigators provided counseling and enrollment assistance to over 50 registered families who attended the event from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. MRGV AHEC students assisted attendees with setting up email accounts in preparation for ACA Enrollment.

Texas-Mexican Border Study finds pesticides a BIG problem.

HARLINGEN,TX— Air samples from homes of Hispanic mothers-to-be along the Texas-Mexico border contained multiple pesticides in a majority of the houses, according to a study conducted by the School of Medicine at The University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio.
Several studies have reported that pesticide exposure may adversely affect mental and motor development of the infants during infancy and childhood. The new report is in the summer issue of the Texas Public Health Journal .

Click Here to read the entire story as it appears in the HSC News Publication, and what suggestions are being made to remedy the situation. Story by Will Sansom and Sheila Hotchkin.